As things seemed to go from bad to worse, I pushed my chair away from the desk and forced myself to take a few breaths. I had to do something, or I knew I was doomed to have my day continue its downspin . . .

"His eyes are red with wine," Jacob blessed his fourth son Judah, "and his teeth are white with milk." In a Chassidic discourse, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains the spiritual significance of "teeth", "whiteness", "redness" and "wine"

It is customary that the person leading the Seder wear a plain white garment, or kittel. Some maintain that the basis for this custom is that the kittel resembles a burial shroud and thus serves to remind one of the futility of vanity and pride. These com...

Many have a custom of wearing white clothing on Yom Kippur in emulation of the ministering angels. Some people wear a kittel, a white robe worn over the clothing. Because it is similar to the burial shroud, it serves to remind us of man's mortality and th...